Shrewsbury special town meeting to consider development of former Spag's warehouse

Thursday

Aug 28, 2014 at 6:00 AMAug 28, 2014 at 9:49 PM

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

SHREWSBURY — The Board of Selectmen has scheduled a special town meeting for next month to address a requested zone modification needed for the development of a mixed-use project where the former Spag's warehouse is located.

The special meeting will be held at Oak Middle School at 7 p.m. Sept. 30. Samuel Adams, manager of Spagtacular LLC, owner of the proposed development that will be called "The Grove," will pay for the cost of the special town meeting, estimated at less than $3,500.

The proposed development will have frontage on Route 9, Maple Avenue and Oak Street. The former Chelmsford Ginger Ale bottling facility/Spag's warehouse and a single-family home currently stand on the site.

Mr. Adams wants approximately 9.6 acres of the parcel zoned Residence B-1 changed to Commercial-Business. He is also requesting an additional modification to amend the Lakeway Overlay District map to include 52,500 square feet of Residence B-1/B-2 land that a special town meeting in October rezoned to Commercial-Business.

Mr. Adams said the zone modifications are needed to allow for the development of a mixed-use project consisting of retail and services, upscale restaurants, casual dining, state-of-the-art fitness and premium entertainment in a campus-like setting with good access and convenient parking.

"We believe that the proposed modification is in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood and will significantly enhance the character of the Route 9 corridor," Mr. Adams wrote to selectmen.

Mr. Adams said he is trying to purchase properties at 104, 108 and 110 Oak St. If he is successful, he plans to request an additional zone modification and incorporate the properties into the project. The full project is anticipated to consist of approximately 431,000 square feet of retail/office space and three residential units consisting of about 2,000 square feet each.

The plan calls for the original 1927 portion of the former Spag's warehouse to be re-purposed and additional buildings of one-to-three stories will be constructed along Route 9 and Maple Avenue. The phased-project is expected to begin this fall and full development in three to five years, depending on the market demand.

The project is expected to create 800 jobs during construction and 500 to 600 permanent jobs. Mr. Adams also noted that the project will produce a significant amount of tax revenue for the town.

Mr. Adams also owns the nearby Fairlawn Plaza, site of the former Price Chopper. He plans to demolish most of the plaza and build a 224,000-square-foot, L-shaped, three-story retail-office complex.

Contact Elaine Thompson at elaine.thompson@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @EThompsonTG